McLeod has bigger role in forging future Padres

Of course, until last year, some of the biggest decisions on draft day were made based on financial considerations. The No. 1 pick and high-dollar signing of high school outfielder Donavan Tate reflected not only a statement about the Padres wanting to grow in ways better suited to their spacious ballpark — an overriding theme coming down from Hoyer to scouts in the field — but also dispelled the long-held notion that a player’s “signability” was more important to the Padres than what he’d bring to Petco Park.

OK, so Tate hasn’t really done anything yet, what with his string of weird injuries. The Padres sound undeterred.

“Impact players,” McLeod said. “We want to draft impact players. Jed talks a lot about building a team that can win in Petco. We really are wanting to use Petco to our advantage. What we do in the draft — and all other forms of acquisition — will be geared toward that.

“Within that mindset, we want to find athletes. We’re not going to take the toolshed kid who doesn’t know how to play baseball, but the player who can help us win and win over an extended period of time. That comes down to scouting.”